If you’ve followed mental health topics on TikTok or Instagram lately, you have probably heard the term emotional regulation. But emotional regulation isn’t just a trendy buzzword. It’s a nuanced concept that psychologists like me have been studying for decades .
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The goal of healthy emotional regulation is not to erase difficult feelings, but to be able to manage those feeling more effectively so they do not become overwhelming. Research suggests that learning to address emotional dysregulation early on can reduce the risk of long-term consequences, including serious mental health conditions such as major mood disorders and borderline personality disorder. Longer term, skills from cognitive-behavioral therapy , one of the most effective forms of talk therapy for anxiety and depression, can help. These skills include learning to view difficult experiences as opportunities for growth, questioning unhelpful thoughts instead of automatically believing them, and accepting emotions without letting them take over.
I study emotional regulation – which scientists refer to as simply “emotion regulation” – within the context of relationships, including understanding how children learn to regulate their own emotions.
